Trouser Braces and Adaptor

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides in one aspect a set of over the shoulder support braces to be worn to support a belt for trousers (or a kilt or skirt et cetera), the braces having at least one strap with a free end having a clip and to which is demountably assembled an adaptor that comprises a body having a lower in use part with a hook formation to hook under a belt, the body further having a first aperture through which the strap of the over shoulder braces passes in use and the clip is passed through the aperture and clipped on and/or wedged in part of the body. The present invention also provides an adaptor for converting clip-on over the shoulder support braces to be able to hook to a belt.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/827005, filed on May 24, 2013 and entitled An Adapter For Trouser Suspenders; the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference,

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns improvements in and relating to over-shoulder support braces to hold up trousers or other lower body garments, such as skirts or kilts or even to support a tool belt on a wearer.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Over-shoulder support braces such as trouser braces, also widely known as suspenders, are generally formed as a set of fabric straps that commonly are elasticated and commonly have two frontal strap lengths to pass over each shoulder of a wearer and down over their chest to the waist band of their trousers, skirt or kilt and one or two rear strap lengths to pass down the back of the wearer to the waist band. The free ends of the straps of the braces generally each have a clip to fasten to the waist band and which normally is of a hinged jaw type often with teeth/serrations to grip onto the fabric of the garment's waistband Commonly the straps are inter-connected/crossed over at the back of the wearer and may terminate in only one or in two free ends with clips at the wearer's back.

A general problem that applies to most over the shoulder clip-on support braces is that the grip provided by the clips can be inadequate for securely holding to some fabrics and can loosen with age as the garment's waistband becomes damaged or as the teeth of the clip become dulled or the hinge loosens and this is exacerbated where the braces are placed under substantial loading in normal use. Normal clip-on trouser braces are thus generally unreliable. An alternative to clip-on trouser braces is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,735 B in the form of trouser braces that have a hook instead of a hinged clip at the free end of each strap length, whereby the hook can be hooked under the wearer's belt instead. This mitigates against the above problems but it requires the braces to be supplied with the hooks integrally assembled to the straps and gives the user only limited choice in the braces available with hooks and no choice in how the braces are used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a set of over the shoulder support braces to be worn to support trousers or a skirt or other garment, the braces having at least one strap with a free end having a clip and to which is demountably assembled an adaptor that comprises a body having a lower in use part with a hook formation to hook under a belt, the body further having a first aperture through which said strap of the over shoulder braces passes in use and the clip is passed through the aperture and secured to part of the body. Preferably the clip is clipped and/or wedged to a clip-receiving part of the adaptor body.

Preferably the clip is clipped to a clip-receiving part of the adaptor body that comprises a bar, rib or other transverse member that is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the strap in use. The clip-receiving part of the adaptor body may be off-set, eg set back, from the main plane of the adapter body. The adaptor body itself is preferably substantially planar and has the form of an apertured plate or frame.

Preferably the first aperture occupies a major part of the lower in use half of the adaptor body, suitably being substantially square in shape.

Preferably the first aperture is configured to frame the hook formation, with the hook formation being largely substantially plane parallel to the first aperture. Preferably the body is a skeletal frame, suitably comprising a pair of substantially mutually parallel lateral limbs that are spanned at the lower in use end by the hook formation.

Preferably the upper in use perimeter of the first major aperture is delimited by a bar, rib or other transverse member that spans between the lateral limbs and which the strap bends around, extending below it and then back up the opposing side of the adaptor body to bring the clip up to the clip-receiving part of the body. This transverse member may be substantially mid-way up the body, substantially dividing into upper and lower halves. Preferably the clip-receiving part of the adaptor body comprises a bar, rib or other transverse member and that is higher up and parallel to the bar, rib or other transverse member that delimits the upper perimeter of the first major aperture.

Above the clip-receiving part of the adaptor body the lateral limbs may have a further bar, rib or other transverse member spanning therebetween wholly or partially, in the latter case extending as a pair of short opposing transverse arms one extending from each lateral limb. This can serve as a means for at the upper end of the adaptor body holding the strap closer into the plane of the adaptor body and plane of the belt in use.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided an adaptor for use with clip-on over the shoulder support braces to convert the braces to be able to readily engage onto a belt and which adaptor comprises a body having a hook formation to hook under a belt, the body further having an aperture through which a strap of over shoulder clip-on braces may pass for use and dimensioned so that the clip may be passed through the aperture and then clipped to a clip-receiving part of the body.

The present invention for the first time enables a normal pair of clip-on over the shoulder support braces to be used hooked to a wearer's belt rather than clipped to the trousers/garment or to the belt. This gives the user much greater flexibility in how they support their belt, with more choice in the braces they can wear and the options to use the clips for attachment or use the hooks instead. The adaptor also can further enable the working life of a set of clip-on braces to be extended far beyond their normal term.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the adaptor and showing the hook formation for hooking to a belt and the aperture through which the strap and clip of the braces passes to fasten to the adaptor body;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through the adaptor taken along the line 11-11 in FIG. 1 and figuratively showing the strap of a set of braces fitted in place to the upper part of the adaptor's body:

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view identical to FIG. 1 but showing the adaptor body in use fitted to the lower end of a strap of a pair of clip-on over-shoulder trouser braces and with the hook of the adaptor secured to the belt for holding up the trousers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the Figures, the preferred embodiment of the invention is an adaptor for use with clip-on over the shoulder support braces. It comprises a relatively planar, skeletal frame-shaped body 1 as shown in FIG. 1. The frame-shaped body 1 has a pair of mutually parallel lateral limbs 1 a, 1 b and which are spanned between at three stages. At the lower end of the body 1 they are spanned by a hook formation 2, then mid-way up the body 1 by a first/lower transverse member 1 c and then, yet further up the body 1 by a second/upper transverse member 1 d that is configured as a clip-receiving part of the body or mare simply put, a clip-receiver.

The body 1 may suitably be cast or pressed from metal or moulded of a tough plastic such as nylon. It is configured to reversibly convert a set of clip-on braces so that each strap S of the braces can readily engage onto a wearer's trouser belt B by hooking rather than clipping to the belt B (as shown in FIG. 3).

The adaptor body 1 has a tapered hook formation 2 projecting rearwardly and then upwardly from its lower end to hook under and behind the belt B. The adaptor body 1 has a first aperture 3 a in its lower half that is approximately square in shape and which occupies the majority of the lower half of the adaptor body 1. The first aperture 3 a is configured to be wide enough and tall enough to allow the clip C on the braces strap S to be inserted and passed through it from the front and so that the clip C and strap S can be pulled up the rear face of the adaptor body for securing to the adaptor body 1. The upper perimeter of the first aperture 3 a is delimited by the first/lower transverse member 1 c. The strap S bends around the first/lower transverse member 1 c to extend up the rear face of the adaptor body 1 and the clip C has its jaws opened so that one part of the jaw can be inserted in the upper aperture 3 b up behind the second/upper transverse member 1 d for the clip C to clip onto the second/upper transverse member 1 d. The upper aperture 3 b is delimited at its lower perimeter by the first/lower transverse member 1 c and at its upper perimeter by the second/upper transverse member 1 d.

The spacing between the first/lower transverse member 1 c and the second/upper transverse member 1 d is selected to be able to operatively trap the clip C in place when the front jaw of the clip C is inserted through the aperture 3 b and its hinge end is proximate to/pressing against the top of the first/lower transverse member 1 c. Accordingly, at the same time as being secured in place by clipping, the clip C is wedged or blocked in place against pulling out from the body 1 when in use and under load, since the clip C is, when strap S is load-bearing, wedged against/blocked by the first/lower transverse member 1 c and unable to rotate free due to the front jaw of the clip C latching/pressing against the second/upper transverse member 1 d.

Above the second/upper transverse member Id the lateral limbs 1 a, 1 b are not fully spanned again, but there are a pair of opposing arms 1 e, one on each limb 1 a, 1 b that extend towards each other and thus partially span between the lateral limbs 1 a, 1 b. These are at the uppermost in use end of the adaptor body 1 and serve as a means of vertically straightening and flattening the braces strap S against the wearer's body when the braces are hanging loose. In use since the wearer is likely to have the braces adjustor just above the adaptor body, the arms 1 e can be hidden within a loop of the strap S at the braces adjustor if desired.

To install each adaptor to a strap of a set of braces, the end of the braces strap S with the clip C is first inserted to pass under arms le and pulled over the front of the body 1 over the first, lower transverse member 1 c and then bent/folded around the first, lower transverse member 1 c passed through the lower aperture 3 a and up the rear of the body 1 over the lower transverse member 1 c until the now front facing jaw of the clip C can be inserted through the upper aperture 3 b to latch against the second/upper transverse member 1 d. The clip C will now be trapped there when the strap C is tautened under load. The adaptor 1 is now thus secured to the strap with the upper half of the adaptor body 1 anchoring the strap in place and the hook 2 of the lower half of the adaptor 1 can be hooked to the wearers belt B.

FIG. 2 shows that the adaptor body has an apertured plane and a hook that is offset from this apertured plane. The hook extends up from the lower portion of bottom of the adaptor body. The clip receiving part of the body 1 d is offset from the aperture plane. The apertured plane extends along the length of the lateral members 1 a, or vertically from the bottom of the adaptor body, where the hook 2 extends out therefrom to the op of the adaptor body or the top of the transverse arms 1 e.

A transverse member, as used herein is a bar, rib or other transverse member that in an exemplary embodiment extends between the lateral limb of the adaptor body.

A transverse arm 1 e, as used herein, extends from a lateral member a portion of the distance between the two lateral members. A transverse arm may be in plane with the lateral members as shown in FIG. 2, and in an exemplary embodiment a lateral member extends substantially perpendicular to the length, or length direction of the lateral members. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A set of over the shoulder support braces to be worn to support a belt comprising: at least one strap with a free end having a clip; an adaptor configured to be demountable assembled to said at least one strap comprising: a body comprising: a lower in use part with a hook formation to hook under said belt; and a first major aperture through which said strap of the over shoulder braces passes in use and the clip is passed through the first major aperture and secured to the body.
 2. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 1, comprising a clip-receiving part of the body and wherein the clip is configured to be clipped to said clip-receiving part of the body.
 3. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 1, comprising a clip-receiving part of the body wherein the clip is configured to be clipped, wedged, latched or jammed in use in said clip-receiving part of the body.
 4. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 3, wherein the clip-receiving part of the body comprises a transverse member that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the strap in use.
 5. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 4, wherein the clip-receiving part of the body is off-set from an apertured plane of the adapter body.
 6. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 3, wherein the clip-receiving part of the body comprises a transverse member that is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the strap in use and which delimits a perimeter of an aperture through the body.
 7. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 6, wherein the transverse member is substantially mid-way up the body and substantially divides said body into an upper and a lower half.
 8. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 6, wherein the transverse member or the clip-receiving part of the body is configured parallel to and higher up the along the adapter body than a transverse member that delimits an upper perimeter of the first major aperture.
 9. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 8, comprising a pair of short opposing transverse arms extending from each lateral limb a portion of a distance between the lateral limbs and configured above the clip-receiving part of the adaptor body.
 10. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adaptor body is substantially planar and comprises: a first aperture configured therethrough; and a second aperture configured therethrough: wherein the hook formation is offset from an apertured plane of the adapter body.
 11. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adaptor body has a first aperture that occupies a major part of a lower in use half of the adaptor body.
 12. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 1, wherein he adaptor body has a first aperture that is substantially square in shape.
 13. A set of, over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adaptor body has a first aperture that is configured to frame the hook formation, with the hook formation being largely substantially plane parallel to the first major aperture.
 14. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adaptor body is a frame comprising a pair of substantially mutually parallel lateral limbs that are spanned at the lower in use end by the hook formation.
 15. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 1, tie the adaptor body comprises: a pair of substantially mutually parallel lateral limbs; first aperture an upper in use perimeter of the first aperture, a transverse member that spans between said pair of substantially mutually parallel lateral limbs: wherein the upper in use perimeter is delimited by said transverse member, and wherein the strap bends around and extending below said transverse member, and then extends back up the opposing side of the adaptor body to bring the clip up to a clip-receiving part of the body.
 16. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 15, wherein the transverse member is configured substantially mid-way up the body, substantially dividing said body into an upper half and a lower half.
 17. A set of over the shoulder support braces as claimed in claim 15, wherein the clip-receiving part of the adaptor body comprises a transverse member and that is higher up and parallel to the transverse member that delimits an upper perimeter of the first major aperture.
 18. An adaptor for use with clip-on over the shoulder support braces to convert e braces to be able to readily engage onto a belt and which adaptor comprises: a body comprising: a lower in use part with a hook formation to hook under a belt; clip-receiving part of the body; an aperture through which a strap of said over shoulder support braces may pass for use and be configured so that a clip may be passed through the aperture and then be clipped and/or wedged to said clip-receiving part of the body.
 19. An adaptor as claimed in claim 18, wherein the body comprises: a lower in use part with a hook formation to hook under said belt: a first major aperture through which said strap of the over shoulder braces passes in use and the dip is passed through the first major aperture and secured to the body; and wherein the dip is clipped to the clip-receiving part of the body. 